B360 Virtual Internships 2021
Pilot Project
in cooperation with the Namibian University of Sience and TechnologY NUST
April 16 - July 19, 2021
Summary
Four bachelor students from NUST were offered this 3 month program. They all received their certificates after 13 weeks of hard and challenging work with their companies. In addition, they participated in three special courses: Office Etiquette held by Julius Bär, ICT Training by Ernst Elsener and the Virtual Career Starter Course held by two LGT experts.
The four interns have gone through a huge learning curve, professionally and personally and have gained a lot of insight into the labor market, entrepreneurship and practical skills.
The cultural exchange between North and South was an important part of the program. For this reason, every student had a virtual host family in Switzerland. They communicated regularly via Whatsapp or Face time calls, exchanged information and pictures about their lifestyle and culture.
We are proud and very pleased to say that the pilot project of the new B360 Virtual Internships program was a success – thanks to the support of the STAUB KAISER FOUNDATION, our partner companies “African-Business Circle” and the “Jobs For Africa Foundation”, NUST our partner university in Namibia, the virtual host families, B360 voluntary experts, the students, and many supporters and volunteers.
Outlook virtual Internships 2022
Planning for our next virtual internships is under way. It is our goal to offer virtual internships to a larger number of students from Southern Africa. For this reason we are looking for more companies and host families in Switzerland prepared to participate in our program. Ideally, the next internships should start in early 2022.
Are you interested to be part of this new program or to hear more about it? Please contact us here directly.
The Interns
Please find here more information and impressions of our four virtual interns:
“I learned a lot about the working life and basic things I need to know for the corporate world, and all I can say is that it was a fun, educative and unforgettable experience.”
“I have learned a whole lot of new soft skills that will help me in the working world. The type of improvements I have seen in myself are, punctuality and good time management. I am still working on learning how to become more independent and how to take initiative.”
“This internship has been an excellent and rewarding experience. It was a great opportunity to improve my personal skills. They have boosted my professional skills to a higher level and prepared me for my future career.”
“I enjoyed all the different elements of the virtual internship and appreciated having a Swiss experience from Namibia! The training courses were dynamic and offered me extremely helpful insights that I think most people only learn while they are already employed.”